Will there be another chance after the rapture?

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Will there be another chance after the rapture?; Not if you have rejected Him already
Topic Started: Aug 8 2008, 07:14 PM (56 Views)
Robert	Aug 8 2008, 07:14 PM Post #1
Member Posts: 61 Group: Members Member #4,713 Joined: May 30, 2008	WILL THERE BE ANOTHER CHANCE TO BE SAVED AFTER THE RAPTURE? For those who wonder about the rapture, one of the first questions that come to mind is, if one is left behind, can they be saved after the rapture? That depends on whether or not one has heard and understood Paul’s gospel of grace before this Dispensation of Grace ends. There are those who teach the error that those who have heard the gospel but refused to repent and turn to Christ will have another chance after the rapture though they will possibly face martyrdom. They with good intentions believe and say that many are good people who have just not got around to making a decision to put their faith in Christ and God will give them a chance after the rapture to come to Christ. Of those who have heard and understood the gospel, yet refused to put their faith and trust in Christ for whatever reason and are left behind, there is no salvation. Noah warned the people of his day of coming destruction. It is said of Noah that he was a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet. 2:5). And no doubt some believed him but couldn’t see any change in the weather and said, well, I’ll think about it, just before the flood came and took them all away. When the Lord determined to destroy the earth in the flood it seems that the building of the ark took one hundred and twenty years during which time Noah preached of coming disaster to no avail. And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he [is] indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years” (Gen. 6:3). The Lord said of that time and His return: But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, “and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matt. 24:37-39). Speaking of the Antichrist, and will those left behind when the rapture occurs have another chance to be saved. Paul said: The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusions, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 thess. 2:9-12). Of course the lie is that the lawless one is God, who “…sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4). Of those who refused “…the love of the truth that they might be saved,…” The Lord said: “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (Matt. 13:21; Lk. 11:23). Of course those who believe but have friends and especially family members and relatives who are not Christian want to believe that those left behind will have another chance. But we cannot ignore the sure words of Scripture on which our understanding must be established. According to Paul, those who have heard the gospel and still not accepted Christ at the time of the rapture will be left behind. He says God will send them strong delusions and they will believe that lie. They will believe the Antichrist is God and savior of the world and be condemned forever without hope. Some say they just haven’t made a decision, but they have. To not receive Him is to refuse Him. There are many who are great neighbors, friendly, honest, always ready to give a helping hand when needed, live a spotless life and raise well-behaved children. An open discussion about politics’ or any number of things is friendly and cordial. But when religion or the Bible is mentioned, or they are asked if they are Christian and been saved, there is an immediate change in attitude if not open hostility and deep-seated resentment toward God surfaces immediately. Then there are those who if asked if they are Christian and saved immediately reply positively and that that they are church members and attend to on a regular basis. But it is very difficult if not impossible to have a spiritual conversation or discussion about the Scriptures or anything having to do with Christ and the Scriptures. Many churches in their drive to increase membership do not question those applying as to whether or not they have been saved, when in fact they have not. Perhaps we would do well to examine the word believe (pisteuo) as used by Paul and others. The word ‘believe’ is not the best translation. For a single word, trust would be more accurate. The word translated has a meaning of “to adhere to, trust, rely on.” To believe anything as being true or, factual, does not necessarily include commitment or trust in that thing or person. In the case under consideration, to be saved and receive the Holy Spirit who is life, one must make a commitment of trust and by faith receive the Savior. They must confess sins believing that Christ indeed died for them in their place. Even after the Pharisees and Scribes heard the Lord and watched the Him perform miracles of every sort and even raise the dead they still refused to accept Him as their Messiah and trust in Him. Because of that the Lord spoke to them in parables and said to His disciples: To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, “so that ‘seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them’ ” Mk. 4:11-12). Here it is evident, the Lord hid the truth from them so they could not be saved because they refused to accept Him as the one the prophets had promised from the beginning of the world. He said to them: Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am [He], you will die in your sins” (Jo. 8:24). In spite of modern communications, there are untold millions who have never heard the gospel at all. And there are those who have heard the name gospel or Christ more or less but never understood it enough to make a knowledgeable decision. It would seem that they are among the martyrs of Rev. 7:9-17 and those who are admitted into the kingdom after the Second Advent judgments. We know that in the latter part of the tribulation the mark of the Beast will be forced on mankind, and whoever refuses the mark will be marked for death. But there must be those who do not receive the mark and will survive the period. Peter in Acts 2:28 quoting from the prophet Joel says that “…whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Whether they are martyred is not said. There are Jews and Gentiles who survive the carnage of the tribulation and are judged at the coming of the Lord and the establishment of the kingdom. Many of them will be saved and given admission into the kingdom. It must be so, since they will be the ones who must repopulate the earth after most have been killed by the Antichrist and Devine judgments. The apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews speaking of the truth preached in past times by angels and judgment that followed on those who neglected it. Paul says their problem was not unbelief, but neglect. They knew the truth but did nothing about it, and he warns those of his day and today: For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him” (Heb. 2:1-3). In the tribulation there will be those who preach the gospel of the kingdom to the entire world. It will be the message that the kingdom is at hand, or as Lk. 10:9 says: “The kingdom has come near to you.” There will be 144.000 Jewish servants of Rev. 7:3-8) who will most likely preach the gospel of the kingdom during that time probably to the Gentile nations. There is an angel in later part of the tribulation who preaches the “everlasting gospel” and the coming of the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS to rule all nations. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters (Rev. 14:6-7). For those who read this chapter, do not delay; receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ. Today is the day of salvation. Today you can be saved and included in those who are “caught up” to forever be with the one who died for you and paid for your sins and offers free eternal life. You have no promise of tomorrow. We with the beloved apostle Paul say: “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore [you] on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). Robert



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